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What sharpening tools and technique did you use (the more experienced guys will probably ask that before you get some useful advice)? Unless you were trying to put a bevel on flat piece of stainless (which it seems you didn't) it should NOT take that long. More life a few minutes per knife ...

What sharpening tools and technique did you use (the more experienced guys will probably ask that before you get some useful advice)? Unless you were trying to put a bevel on flat piece of stainless (which it seems you didn't) it should NOT take that long. More life a few minutes per knife ...

Only after it was pointed out I realized that I phrased my answer in an unfortunate way and want to apologize to Ben (and rest of the readers as well) - I did not intend to attack or to be rude. I merely wanted to stress that I am not the experienced user who could actually give a more helpful advice.

There are many possible reasons for your difficulty. What stones were you using and what grit? Are you sure they were flat? It does sound like you're not getting to the edge though. Even a mediocre stainless should be able to take a good edge.

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

There are many possible reasons for your difficulty. What stones were you using and what grit? Are you sure they were flat? It does sound like you're not getting to the edge though. Even a mediocre stainless should be able to take a good edge.

I agree that it sounds as though you weren't cutting all the way to the edge. I sharpened a few very neglected German knives for some colleagues last week using a less than stellar norton tri-stone and was able to get them ALL sharp in an hour or so. But if you're not hitting the right spots, you can literally go all day and not get it sharp.
The sharpie technique is awesome. I use it all the time to keep track of my sharpening, whether thinning or cutting a new bevel, it's a very helpful tool to use.

agp, do you know about the black marker trick? basically just draw a bevel with a sharpie on your knife before you sharpen. that way, as you go-you can atleast tell if your hitting the bevel correctly(because youll be removing the ink). also, stubborn stainless often needs additional time on the low grit stones sometimes, a bester 500 is about where i like to get the ball rolling when im doing stainless. do you check for a developing burr?

My stones are King 1000 and 6000 apicius9 gave me. And a one that's in between 1000 and 6000, not sure what it is. I also have a flattening stone apicius9 gave me.

The knives in question are the two on the right. They were from China, from a long long time ago. Maybe 10 years? I practiced my little sharpening skills using the knife on the left (which I believe is carbon steel), as you can see from the scratches here and there.

I suggest that you add a coarse stone to your lineup. The King 1000 is a very good medium stone, but it just isn't up to the job of creating a new bevel on a dull knife, at least not in a reasonable amount of time and effort.

There are several good stones you can get - the Beston 500, the Naniwa Chocera 400 or Superstone 400, or my favorite, the Gesshin 400.